Oedbb 106.— fcORANTHACBLiE. 621 



S. and Oan. An interesting Bhrub or small tree, 10 to 20f high. Leaves alter- 

 nate, petioled, those of the young shoots ovate-lanceolato, others with 3 large 

 lobes. Fls. greenish-yellow, in clustered racemes at the end of the last year's 

 twigs; drape blue. Apr. — Jn. Every part of the tree has a pleasant fragrance, 

 and a sweetish, aromatic taste, which is strongest in the bark of the root, 



3. BENZO'IH, Nees. Spice Wood. (Named for its fragrancfi 

 which is compared to that of the resinous substance, benzoin.) Flowers 

 dioecious with 4 involiiorate scales ; calyx 5 to 6-parted ; $ stamens 9, 

 in 3 rows, the inner lobed and gland-bearing at base ; anthers 2-celled ; 



2 stamens 15 to 18, sterile, filiform ; drupe obovoid, on a pedicel not 

 thickened. — Ti-ees or shrubs with entire, deciduous Ivs. and small, late- 

 ral clusters of yellow fls. preceding the Ivs. 



1 B. odoriferum Noes. Lvs. olovate-lanceolaie, veinkss, entire, deciduous; fls. in 

 clustered umbels; buds and pedicels smooth. — A shrub 6 to 12f high, in moist 

 iroods, U. S. and Can. Lvs. cuneiform and acute at base, 2 to 4' long, half as 

 wide, paler beneath. Fls. pedicellate, in small, sessile umbels, 4 or 5 from each 

 bud. Drupes red. May. (Laurus Benzoin, L.) 



2 B. mellissaefdUuin Nees. Lvs. oblong-lanceolate, abrupt or cordate at base, 

 veiny, pubescent beneath ; fls. in clustered umbels ; huds and pedicels villous. — 

 Borders of shallow ponds or exsiccated swamps, S. States. Shrub 2 to 3f high, 

 with running roots and virgato shoots. Lvs. with prominent veins. Fls. about 

 3 from each bud. Drupes rod. Feb., March. (Laurus mellissaefolia Walt.) 



4. TETRAHTHERA, Jaoq. Pond Spice. (Gr. Tsrpa, four-fold, 

 dvOepbq, flowery ; four flowers in the umbel.) Flowers dioecious, in 

 little stalked umbels, with a 4 or 5-leaved deciduou.s involucre ; calyx 

 4 or 6-parted, deciduous ; 3 stamens 9, in 3 rows ; anthers unequally 

 4-celled (2 cells above and 2 below) ; ? stamens 12 to 15 rudiments ; 

 stigma dilated, 2-lobed, smooth ; drupe naked. — Lvs. deciduous. Fls. 

 yellow, appearing before the lvs. 



T. genfcnlata Nees. Branches divaricate and genioufale ; lvs. small, oblong and 

 oval, nearly smooth, cuneate at base, mostly obtuse at apex ; umbellets terminal, 

 glabrous, on distinct pedicels — In sandy swamps, borders of lagoons, Va. to Fla. 

 Shrub 8 to 15f high, with branches and branchlets remarkably crooked and strag- 

 gling forming an angle of 90° at every fork. Lvs. 1' to 18" long, 5 to 8" wide. 

 Drupes red; Feb., Mar. (Laurus geniculata 'Walt.) 



Order CVIII. LORANTHACELE. Louanths. 



Shrubiy plants parasitic on trees, with thick, opposite, exstipulate leaves. Flow- 

 ers mostly declinous, an adherent calyx of 4 to 8 lobes, with stamens of the same 

 number, opposite the calyx lobes. Ovary l-ccUed, becoming a fleshy fruit with one 

 albuminous seed. Fig. 37, D. 



Genera 25, species 400, mostly tropicil in America and Asia, a few flouriBhing northward as 

 lar as oar latitude. They possess tho remarkable property of planting themselves on trees and 

 aalMlstlne on their juices. They are slightly astringent. Bird-limo is formed la part from the 

 vljcid pulp of the fruit of the Mistletoe. 



PHORODEN'DRON, Nutt. Mistletoe. {Gr. (jicop, a thief, divdpov, 

 .-i tree ; they, live on stolen food.) DioBcious ; calyx 2 to 4 (mostly 3)- 

 lobed, lobes erect ; $ anther sessile on the base of each lobe, 2-celled, 

 the cells divergent ; ? calyx adherent to the ovary ; stigmas sessile ; 

 stamens ; fruit a pulpy berry. — Herbage fleshy, yellowish green. Sts. 

 jointed, brittle, woody, firmly engrafted on the limbs of trees, especially 

 Oftfcs, Elms, Apples, &c. Fls. imbedded in the joitited rachis. 



